Dogs and their human pals arrive at the big surfing competition.
I’d never seen a dog surf in my entire life. Not until today.
Now I’ve seen a whole pack of dogs surfing.
Yes, I have to admit it. I couldn’t resist heading down to the big Surfdog event at Imperial Beach today. This year it was sponsored by Unleashed by Petco. In the past it was called Loews Coronado Bay Surf Dog Competition.
What? Some of you have never seen a dog athlete mount a surfboard and skillfully ride mighty ocean breakers?
Seeing is believing…
It’s the epic Surfdog summer event everyone has waited for!Finishing touches are put on a sand sculpture at Imperial Beach.This dog can hardly wait to watch the intense animal action!Information boards outline the various heats in the big surf contest.Announcer readies for some incredible pooch performances.The VIP section fills and so does the beach and pier.Dogs and non-dogs at water’s edge have a great place to watch.These guys want a great spot on the pier to view the action.Everyone is ready for the first exciting freestyle heat!This little fellow doesn’t seem to know what’s going on.Surfing contestants mount their surfboards waiting for the starting horn.The crowd favorite, a genuine superstar, poses for my camera.The horn blows and the first fifteen minute heat begins!The crowd converges on the ocean in disbelief.One four-legged athlete is already out near the breakers.Here come two canine athletes showing great form!Steady as she goes!Hot dogging it and hanging twenty!Wow, those incredible, amazing surfers are absolutely inhuman!Thousands enjoy Unleashed by Petco’s surf dog event!
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Arriving at the long-time OTL venue on Fiesta Island.
Shame on me. I’ve lived in San Diego a good chunk of my life, and I’ve never headed to Fiesta Island to experience the legendary fun of OTL. Well, I finally went early this morning!
Over The Line, commonly called OTL, is a San Diego original, a unique beach game that every year seems to gain in popularity. Played on the sand, it resembles a simple version of softball with no baserunners. You must hit the ball over “the line” and between two foul lines, and not have it be caught, which would result in an out. Three innings, three outs. While the rules are a bit more complicated, that’s the gist of it.
The OTL World Championship has become a local institution. It’s played on Fiesta Island, which is located near the center of Mission Bay. It’s put on by OMBAC, the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club. The highly anticipated annual summer event is now 61 years old! But you might never guess this spectacle was so venerable, given its outlandish party atmosphere and the sheer raunchiness of the crowd.
Team names are often juvenile and sexually explicit, to the extent you’d probably just roll your eyes. But it’s all very good-natured and amusing. The crowd is composed largely of males in their 20’s and 30’s, and beer is chugged freely everywhere, as it’s BYOB. I suppose as the day progresses, the crowd becomes more randy–I’ll admit that’s one reason I swung by so early in the morning. That and the avoidance of a hot afternoon!
The tournament goes on for two weekends. This first weekend is for the amateurs; on the second weekend the teams and the play become more serious.
I’m glad I checked it out. Now I know what I’ve missed all these years!
Follow me as I arrive from the shuttle bus around seven in the morning. The sun hasn’t broken through the clouds yet…
Walking past an Old Mission Beach Athletic Club truck and banner.People stand as day begins with the national anthem.Official OTL programs for sale near the entrance.Miss Emerson Headquarters is on sandy Emerson Street.
As you might guess, there’s a bikini contest, and every year the winner is titled Miss Emerson.
Scoreboard for 61st World Championship of Over The Line.Players and teams check the official schedule board.Early in the morning and many people are arriving with chairs and coolers.The OTL tournament doesn’t begin until seven thirty.San Diego Parrot Head Club lounge is still empty at this early hour.Guy checks out some silly, very raunchy posters.A player practices fielding a batted ball.The huge OTL tournament finally begins in earnest!Ball is to be struck into a narrow outfield.Lots more people will arrive throughout the day.Some old guys just kicking back on the sand.Marines from opening ceremony color guard pass on an OMBAC cart.The t-shirt gardens shack is becoming more active.Hundreds of games of OTL will be played here over two weekends.San Diego’s sunny Fiesta Island is the home to Over The Line.
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Many distinguished speakers at the Tony Gwynn Memorial Tribute remembered and honored one of the greatest baseball hitters of all time. The public ceremony was held at Petco Park on June 26, 2014. Here are some quotes…
Ted Leitner, Padres radio broadcaster:
So we will cry together, we will laugh together, we will have joy together today, but one thing we will never never do is to forget the greatest hitter of his generation and one of the greatest people in the history of major league sport.
I would like one more time one final standing ovation before the anthem for that magnificent Padre, number 19, Tony Gwynn.
They lied to us, you know. They lied to us in the movie A League of Their Own, when the manager and the Tom Hanks character said “There’s no crying in baseball!” Wrong, huh? Since June 16, there’s been almost nothing but crying in baseball.
People identified with him more than big muscled sculpted athletes because they thought he was the guy next door. Tony was chunky…He was 4 for 5 today, he doesn’t need to lose weight, okay?
Many of you were there in 2007 when he was inducted with the immortals, literally, in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It was the biggest crowd in Cooperstown history, beyond Ruth, beyond Mantle, beyond Aaron, beyond anybody when he and Cal Ripken were inducted that hot summer day.
See, nobody’s talking about at-bats and number of hits. We know those numbers. 3141 hits, and 15 All Star Games, and 8 batting titles and 5 Gold Gloves, and all that stuff, but it’s, and that is greatness unto itself, but it’s so beyond that, it’s so beyond that, but the man and the compassion…
But he stayed here. It was never about the money. It was about you folks…it was about this Padre organization that he loved..he was never about the money.
The greatest laugh of all time…it was the best…it was better than the game. I could’ve broadcast that instead of the game.
Ron Fowler, Executive Chairman of the San Diego Padres:
Tony was important to all of us. The number of wonderful stories since his passing from around the country reinforces the many reasons why he was loved by so many.
We all know of Tony’s iconic status as one of the greatest baseball players ever, but even more importantly, many of us experienced the special qualities of the warm, giving and compassionate member of our community. What stood out most for me was Tony’s ability to relate to people from all demos and economic strata. His special ability to relate to children…
Tony considered himself an Everyman and remained an Everyman throughout his entire life, so approachable and so easy for San Diegans to embrace as our city’s favorite son.
Reggie Jackson, member of baseball’s Hall of Fame:
He was a genuine man, he was a quality man, one hundred percent family man, he was a great son, a great husband, a great father, and a great brother. A great friend and a great teammate. He was the example of what we all want to live and emulate as a person. He cared about his fellow Man, and we understand and know that he cared about his community.
During the dash of his 54 years, he showed us the template of how to live with dignity.
I’ll leave you with something to think about as I refer about baseball. I saw some great hitters. I saw Mike Schmidt and Jim Rice. Kaline, Dick Allen, Molitor, Yount and Brett. Cooper and Bench. I saw Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Billy Williams, Stargell and Stretch McCovey. I saw Banks at the end. Number 19, Tony Gwynn, belongs on that page.
John Boggs, Tony Gwynn’s agent:
Tony was a very humble man, and he wasn’t big on ceremonies, especially ceremonies that were about him, but I know he’s looking down this evening on all of us here at Petco and I’m sure he’s very grateful for this outpouring of love.
He was an incredible friend. He was the definition of friend. In life there are a lot of acquaintances but very few true friends…He touched so many people, and I was just lucky to be one of them.
He was so much better than the statistics he accumulated.
There was also the memory of Tony and Ted Williams together in the first interview they did together and I’ve never seen Tony so energized and excited as two of the greatest hitters exchanged baseball knowledge…I was lucky to be just a fly on the wall.
And Tony’s humility. Waiting for the Hall of Fame call, I could not believe how nervous he was. With all of his accomplishments, I said, “Tony, this is a slam dunk.” And he just smiled and looked at me and said. “Hey, you never know.” That was Tony. He never took anything for granted.
To the fans, he loved you and appreciated you more than I convey into words. He loved the city of San Diego, he loved being an Aztec, and he most definitely loved being a Padre. He was and always will be Mr. Padre.
Kevin Faulconer, Mayor of San Diego:
Tony Gwynn represented the best of San Diego. His infectious personality did more than spark the Padres to two World Series appearances, he lit up our entire community with pride, and it’s almost impossible to sum up how much Tony Gwynn meant to our city.
Damian Jackson, former San Diego Padres player:
He was a baseball giant to me…who he was as a man so overshadows what he was as a baseball player, and that’s amazing to me.
He not only showed us how to play the game the right way, but he also showed us how to be the right person, and be a great, respected man in the community.
And boy did he love his family. He talked about them daily. When he talked about his children, he just lit up, like the sun.
He wouldn’ve been a great dad to have.
So Tony taught and inspired us on a daily basis…he was a Hall of Fame man, in my eyes.
You inspire me to be a better father, you inspire me to be a better man, and your legacy lives on in this city and in my heart. And thank you Tony. May you rest in peace.
Rob Manfred, COO of Major League Baseball:
In my 25 years in the game, I’ve known scores of players. Even among this elite group, Tony Gwynn was special. He was special because of his Hall of Fame talent, his devotion to the game, and the values he came to represent.
Tony Gwynn may have been the perfect member of the baseball family.
While he was playing, baseball could always count on Tony to do the right thing…he was a great role model to young players.
Mark Martinez, SDSU Aztecs baseball head coach:
He was my colleague, my mentor, but more importantly, my friend. My family. He was part of the Aztec family.
Coach Gwynn’s a teacher. And he was best at teaching all kinds of things. Obviously baseball, but teaching life lessons…All of his teachings were centered around his core value: Do things right.
And then he would say: “Let’s go to work.” Let’s go to work. Does that not embody what he was about? For 20 years in the big leagues and 12 years on the mesa…
Finally, Coach Gwynn is a gift. He’s a gift to all of us. His laugh, his mentorship, the way he made you feel important, even if he just met you for the first time. He gave these gifts every single day.
Trevor Hoffman, former San Diego Padres player:
Whenever… he had the opportunity to speak to you the fans, it felt like he was talking to us one on one.
What a gift he gave us all. That joy that everybody’s talked about, his smile, and his laugh, will be etched in our memories forever, another great gift…He always said, you give a little bit, you get a lot. How appropriate that was about T. Gwynn…What a great man, T. Gwynn.
It was on one of those videos we heard Tony say thank you, thank you, thank you–always being humble, always thanking us. Well it’s us that needs to be saying thank you to T. Gwynn. Thank you for your Hall of Fame career over twenty years, sharing it with us. Thank you for representing San Diego with such class. And thank you for letting us all in your house tonight. Amen.
Anisha Gwynn Jones, daughter of Tony Gwynn:
On behalf of all of the Gwynn family, I would just like to take the time to thank each and every one of you for all of the support and all the love. Thank you. You guys are why my dad loved San Diego so much.
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Tony Gwynn on video screen at Petco’s Park at the Park.
Tonight I joined thousands of other San Diegans at Petco Park to honor the late Tony Gwynn, the greatest Padres player ever…and one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport.
I apologize that my camera takes very poor long distance shots. There were many speakers paying tribute to Tony, and my photos of the distant stage and podium came out terribly.
A few photographs seem to have captured the spirit of the occasion. Here they are…
San Diegans pay their respects at the Tony Gwynn statue.Flowers, messages and memorabilia from loving fans.Child reaches up to touch number 19.Padres fans enter the stands before Tony Gwynn memorial begins.Anthony Keith Gwynn, the greatest Padre ever.Thanks for the memories, Mr. Padre.Thousands gather long before the memorial tribute starts.Thank you signs and poignant gestures from the crowd.White doves are released near the stage as program begins.
Nineteen doves were released after a choir opened the service, singing: “I’m not here, but I’m not far. My spirit lives on.”
Ted Leitner remembers Tony and introduces many guests.
Ted Leitner, long-time Padres radio announcer, said that we’d never forget the greatest hitter of his generation. He then asked the crowd to provide one last standing ovation. During the memorial tribute, Ted played a recording of Tony’s unforgettable laugh from a cell phone.
There were scores of distinguished guests, and several speakers remembered Tony Gwynn for the cheering crowd.
Reggie Jackson, Mr. October, gave a Yankee salute to Tony and his family. San Diego’s mayor spoke, and so did the Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball. Tony La Russa and Joe Torre stood up in the VIP section to loud applause. On the big video screen, tributes were offered by former teammates and opponents alike. In old videos, Tony Gwynn was treated with respect by contemporary baseball greats, including Mike Schmidt, Cal Ripken, Greg Maddux, Tommy Lasorda and many others.
Every guest speaker at the memorial seemed to agree that Tony was an inspiration to all those around him. To many he was a mentor, and to all he was a friend.
Tony Gwynn is remembered as a great player and great man.After the ceremony, number 19 remains on field.Petco Park slowly empties after tribute ends.
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People arrive at dawn to participate in Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.
I woke up very early this morning to check out the start of today’s big San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon. I’d never been to the event in past years, so the magnitude of the race really floored me. The west part of Balboa Park and many blocks of Sixth Avenue were packed with super energetic humanity!
Here are a bunch of pics!
Dozens of UPS trucks served as the gear check.Marathon runners warm up in west Balboa Park.San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon corrals begin to fill up.Just minutes before the big San Diego marathon starts!Thousands are ready to race at the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.Athletes with disabilities are first to begin the race!They’re off from the start line!Full marathon runners get ready to begin their race for glory.Lots of photographers record the colorful action.San Diego Rock ‘n Roll full marathoners go!Runners start up Sixth Avenue with great excitement.Photos were being taken all over the place.Racers pass announcer stand, San Diego mayor and American flag.Runners wave at Cameron of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.KUSI television reporter Kerri Lane between live shots.
And now I’m hungry for breakfast! Walking back toward home, I snap a couple more photos!
Half marathoners gather into the corrals for their race.Late arrivers walk up Sixth Avenue from downtown.
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Boy gets encouragement before racing in Soap Box Derby.
San Diego’s annual Local Race put on by the All-American Soap Box Derby was held today! The action could be found on 25th Street in Sherman Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown!
Local kids, 7 to 18 years old, build their own gravity cars, then race them down a straight, sloped residential street. There are three classes of competition: Stock Division, Super Stock Division, and Masters Division. Each class features a unique type of race car.
The kids were having a blast!
Kids learn workmanship building gravity cars.The very simple interior of a gravity car.Two competitors get some last minute advice.Ready to race!Man pushes Ice cream cart up 25th Street hill.Here they come! Racers speed past spectators!Announcer at finish line watches the action!One race is over and a car is retrieved.Gravity cars are towed back up to the start line!
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Surfer rides a wave just below the Imperial Beach pier.
Wow! Check out this first cool pic! Did that come out great, or what?
I’m in the middle of my week off from work, and today I went to Coronado again and biked down the Silver Strand to Imperial Beach. I’ve got more photos than you can shake a stick at!
What a beautiful day. I stood on the pier at a spot between the beach and breaking waves and tried to photograph a group of surfers below. Most of action was too far away for my little camera, but a few pics seem worth sharing…
Surfers wait for the perfect wave near Imperial Beach pier.Surfer gets ready to go for a ride.Surfer riding a nice wave on a sunny day.Guy on surfboard just coasting along the foamy ocean surface.No fishing in the surf zone on Imperial Beach pier.
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I enjoyed a stroll through East Village this morning. It was my opportunity to take a few pics of the Padres Opening Day Block Party just north of Petco Park.
Dozens of tents and booths were lined up on either side of J Street. Kettle corn, barbeque on the grill, baseball souvenirs, assorted nonprofits and salespeople and radio shows…all the usual suspects were there. And, of course, baseball fans!
Baseball’s Opening Day celebrated in East Village by Petco Park.San Diego Padres fan tests his pitching arm.Dodgers fans might require a security blanket.People relax and enjoy live music on Padres Opening Day.
A big crowd turned out for the 2014 Padres FanFest!
This morning I spent a little time at this year’s Padres FanFest. Wow! I’d never been to this event before, and it was bigger and more exciting than I expected! Padres fans could engage in all sorts of fun activities throughout Petco Park, and I took photos everywhere I turned. Here are a few good ones…
Padres fans stream up the stairs at Petco Park.People enjoy themselves on the baseball field at Padres FanFest.Posing for photos at home plate at Padres FanFest.Padres fans could either walk or run the bases.Small girl with a big pink baseball bat.Padres ball girl reaches into bucket just before throwing to a fan.A vendor with cotton candy moves through the crowd on the field.Small girl heads toward a big pretzel.Padres fan gets to throw a pitch in the Petco bullpen!Fans wait in line to field balls in Petco’s outfield.Padres manager Bud Black speaks to FanFest crowd.Kids check out the big display on the outfield wall.Looking from The Beach through the outfield fence at lots of fans.Fans stream up from The Beach to the Park at the Park.Inflatable Friar stands atop hill overlooking the KidsFest.Padres fan does chin-ups at Marines booth at FanFest.A military robot fascinates kids at Padres FanFest.Kids play at base of Tony Gwynn statue.Padres KidsFest featured lots of games and happy families.Boy gets ready to swing a bat.Pets available for adoption from Helen Woodward Animal Center.People watch kids playing baseball during Padres FanFest.Kids play in the tiny baseball field at the Park at the Park.
Today, an estimated 5000 people turned out for the public memorial service celebrating the life of the late Jerry Coleman. The service took place at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. “The Colonel” had been the central figure in the Padres baseball organization for over four decades. Jerry’s broadcasting voice will be missed by generations of fans. An excellent argument can be made that he was the most loved public figure in the history of our city.
I apologize that my camera isn’t of the highest quality. I do hope you enjoy a few images that I captured.
Crowd enters Petco Park for Jerry Coleman memorial service.Petco Park screens show photos of Colonel Coleman.San Diegans fill Petco to demonstrate their love for Jerry.The colors are presented while everyone stands.Dick Enberg remembers the late Jerry Coleman.
Dick Enberg noted that the stage was located on Jerry’s favorite spot: second base. After the playing of the National Anthem by the Marine Band, F-18 fighter jets roared overhead in the missing man formation.
Fan holds up a star to honor Jerry Coleman.Tim Flannery sings his own composition about Jerry Coleman.
After speeches by Randy Jones, Bob Chandler, Ron Fowler and Ron Roberts, fan-favorite former Padres player Tim Flannery sang his own stirring composition about Jerry Coleman, the man who hung the stars.
Padres fan reads about a hero’s many accomplishments.JC in a star on the scoreboard, and on next year’s uniforms.Joe Torre represents Major League Baseball at Coleman memorial.
Joe Torre received great applause when he related a few humorous and touching old Yankees stories, and spoke of Jerry Coleman’s heroism and humility.
Ted Leitner, Jerry’s broadcast partner for many years, brought laughter and tears with his intimate accounts of a baseball legend’s modest personality and funny quirks. He concluded that Jerry Coleman was the best man he’d ever known.
Marines fire guns to salute a true hero.
After a salute by the Marine Corps, a T-6 SNJ aircraft from 1942, similar to the one Coleman flew in World War II passed overhead to honor the former Marine.
Jerry’s daughter Chelsea then spoke about her dad. She said that all he really lived for was his country, the game of baseball, and the people he loved. Dick Enberg concluded the memorial by saying that we all were fortunate to be part of the legacy of Jerry Coleman.
Cool San Diego Sights! 